Tulane broke out of its offensive funk Saturday but couldn't end its losing streak.

Scott Threlkeld/The Times-PicayuneTulane's Kris Richard is fouled as he drives to the basket during the first half against Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday afternoon at Fogelman Arena. Richard scored 16 points as the Green Wave lost its fourth consecutive game. The Green Wave stormed back from a 17-point deficit but fell short in a 78-77 loss to Virginia Commonwealth at Fogelman Arena.

Tulane had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Kevin Sims' heave from midcourt was no good.

"It's always disappointing when you fight back that hard and come up short, " said Green Wave guard Kris Richard, who had 16 points. "You always think you fight that hard you're supposed to win. When you come up short, it's always a heartbreaker. But we gave it a good effort, a great effort."

The loss was the fourth straight for Tulane (3-7).

In each of its previous three contests, the Green Wave failed to shoot better than 36 percent, but it made 50.9 percent of its field-goal attempts against the Rams -- and 60 percent in the second half.

Sims and Richard, Tulane's top two scorers, struggled in the first half, shooting 1-of-9. But they fueled the Green Wave's second-half surge, combining to score 25 points during the final 20 minutes.

"It was encouraging to see our guys fight the way they did for the last seven, eight, nine minutes of the game, " Tulane Coach Dave Dickerson said. "We're in a situation where we lost three games in a row, and we just needed to play well and just to give ourselves a chance to win against a good team. And we did it this afternoon."

VCU power forward Larry Sanders, who several NBA scouts were on hand to watch, had 16 points and nine rebounds. Brandon Rozell had 10 points, and Jamie Skeen added 10 for the Rams (7-2), who have reached the NCAA Tournament two of the past three seasons.

Tulane never seemed intimidated by Sanders, especially Holmes, who drove right at the 6-foot-11 junior on several occasions, drawing a pair of fouls. Sanders, who entered the game 13th in the nation in blocked shots, was held without a block for the first time this season.

"We didn't shy away of taking the ball to the rim, even though they have Larry Sanders, who is one of the best players in the country, " Dickerson said.

On the offensive end, Sanders had four points on 1-of-7 shooting at halftime but found his rhythm early in the second half. He scored eight points in the first 4:21 of the period and helped extend a seven-point Rams halftime lead to 17 points by the 11:02 mark.

"He's a good player, but he wasn't the main problem, " Richard said. "If we could have put the ball in the hole a little more, I think that's what the key was. One more shot, we win the game."

The Green Wave trailed 70-59 with 5:57 to play before going on a 14-4 run. A jumper by Asim McQueen with 1:45 remaining cut the deficit to 74-73.

The Green Wave had possession of the ball while trailing 78-75 with 13 seconds to play. With 5.5 seconds left, Joey Rodriguez fouled Sims, who made both free throws.

On the ensuing possession, Tulane fouled Ed Nixon, who missed on the front end of a one-one. By the time Tulane got the ball back with 3.9 seconds, there was only time for Sims' desperation shot.

"I felt we fought as hard as we've fought all year, " Sims said. "We gave ourselves a chance to win at the end. That's all you really could ask."